1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tank cap of a fuel tank which is mainly applied to a motorcycle, an all terrain vehicle or other vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tank cap which is suitable for a vehicle in which a fuel supply port of a fuel tank is exposed to an outer side, such as a motorcycle or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fuel tank arranged on an upper side of an engine of a motorcycle and on a front side of a rider seat is generally provided with a fuel supply port on an upper surface, and a tank cap is provided in the fuel supply port so as to be freely opened and closed.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a conventional tank cap. A tank cap 101 is provided with a circular ring-shaped base member 102 fixed to an upper surface of a fuel tank, and a cap main body 103 coupled to the base member 102 via a hinge, and the cap main body 103 is provided with a lock device (not shown) locking the tank cap in a closed state, and is provided with a key cylinder 104 for canceling the lock device in accordance with a key operation in a center portion. A key hole 104a is provided on an upper surface of the key cylinder 104, and the key hole 104a is covered by a cover 105.
The key hole 104a of the key cylinder 104 and the cover 105 are arranged within a recess 106 formed on an upper surface 103a of the cap main body 103. In the illustrated example, the rectangular cover 105 is arranged within the rectangular recess 106. The cover 105 is structured such that one end portion in a longitudinal direction is supported via a support shaft 107 so as to freely swing, and can open and close the key hole 104a by making the cover 105 swing. Further, a finger catch concave portion 108 is formed on the upper surface 103a of the cap main body 103 on the other end (a free end) side in a longitudinal direction of the cover 105, and the key hole 104a can be opened by inserting a finger into the finger catch concave portion 108 and catching the finger on the free end of the cover 105 so as to open the cover 105.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-67282 discloses an example in which the finger catch concave portion is formed on a leading end side of the cover.
In the prior art mentioned above, since only one finger can be inserted into the finger catch concave portion 108 and it is necessary to open the cover 105 by only one finger, it is hard to operate. In particular, in a case where a rider wears riding gloves, it is hard to insert a finger into the finger catch concave portion 108. Even if the finger can be inserted, the finger may not be caught on the cover 105. In the case mentioned above, since it is necessary to take off the riding glove, the process for opening the cover 105 is troublesome. Further, since only a narrow space exists on an upper surface of the cap main body 103, on the free end side of the cover 105, it is impossible to form the finger catch concave portion 108 larger.